#373 - Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers (1969)

MUSIC HISTORY WRITTEN BY HEAD WRITER DJ MORTY COYLE:

Released in November of 1969 on RCA Victor Records and produced by Al Schmitt this is the fifth album by the American Acid, Psychedelic, Folk Rock group.

In the early ’60s Folk Music had taken over much of the youth culture from the Rock and Roll of the ‘50s. But by the mid-’60s inspired by artists like Bob Dylan, The Byrds, and The Beatles Folk added Rock elements.

Guitarists Jorma Kaukenon and Jack Casady had been playing together in bands as teenagers in Washington, D.C..

In the early ‘60s Jorma went to college in the San Francisco Bay Area where he met local guitarist and vocalist Paul Kantner.

At about that time a young vocalist in the area named Marty Balin had a couple unsuccessful singles before going in that Folk Rock direction. By ’65 he converted a former pizza place on Fillmore Street into a nightclub called The Matrix.

Kantner and Balin had earlier met on the San Francisco music scene and were soon looking to form a house band for The Matrix. So after adding several members, including co-lead female vocalist Signe Anderson, Kantner got Jorma Kaukenon for lead guitar.

Jorma came up with the band’s silly name based on a friend’s dog or a type of homemade roach clip, depending on who you ask.

The band’s popularity and well-received critical notices led to them getting a record deal.

By this time Kaukenon brought in his old friend Jack Casady to play bass.

After one successful album drummer Spencer Dryden joined while Signe left after having a baby.

She was immediately replaced by the female lead vocalist of another local band, The Great Society. Grace Slick had model looks, a powerful voice, and two songs from her old band, one written by her and one by her then brother-in-law.

With this line-up, legendary concert impresario Bill Graham as their manager, and those two songs, "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love" Jefferson Airplane’s second album was a huge international success.

They appeared everywhere from concerts to festivals to popular T.V. shows and became synonymous with the emerging San Francisco Rock sound despite not ever really having any follow up hit singles.

After a few more albums where their music got progressively heavier they fired Bill Graham and moved into a huge communal mansion at 2400 Fulton Street.

After a couple more albums and tours Grace was sidelined while she recovered from throat node surgery so most of the group started a Blues-based side-band called Hot Tuna.

Once Grace was back Jefferson Airplane went into a then totally modern 16-track studio to record this album.

With Vietnam raging on and much societal unrest while a higher consciousness permeated the youth the songs were fiercely anti-war, pro-anarchism, mindful of the environment and ecology, and unmistakably late ’60s.

Guests on the album included David Crosby and Stephen Stills who were working on CSN’s debut, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins who played with the Rolling Stones, and Jerry Garcia from the Grateful Dead.

Despite completion it was delayed for months due to battles with their label over some of the songs’ content and language and even the album’s original title (which I’ll get to later).

It was not just the band’s last all-new record for two years but also the last with this classic line-up.

By the next album Marty and Spencer were gone and Grace and Paul became parents (shout out to my friend, China!)

From that point on there were so many iterations of the line up and new members while original members were leaving and coming back plus eventual name changes from Jefferson Airplane to Jefferson Starship to Starship and a bunch of solo albums and side-projects so we really just want to devote our time to this album and version today.

Sadly Spencer Dryden passed away in 2008, followed by Paul Kantner in 2016, and Marty Balin in 2018.

Jefferson Airplane were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and in 2016 received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.